Sasuke had woken up a bit disoriented from his nap. He had forgotten to set an alarm, so he had been forced to rush a bit to get to dinner in time.

Nevertheless, he was feeling better. He was determent to forget all the confusion of the past few days and concentrate on work. He would pretend to be interested in whatever Mr. Igleheart was saying, and he wouldn't show the resentment he felt for the billionaire—and he would make sure that the stupid contract was signed.

Sasuke had dressed up in one of his favorite suits, a deep midnight blue three-piece. It was more formal than what he would wear around the office, but it was appropriate for such an important meeting, he reckoned. Besides, the suit looked impeccable. He felt confident again—more like his usual self.

Sasuke hurried downstairs and towards the small dining room that was reserved for them. He stopped in front of the room and took a moment to fix his tie, reminding himself of the importance of the evening. This—no-nonsense business talk and negotiating—was something he was good at. He shouldn't have had any reason to be nervous, but so far things hadn't really been going his way, and he couldn't help worrying.

Sasuke took a deep breath and stepped into the dining room to make sure that everything had been taken care of. Their boss had given strict orders to the staff, but it was still up to Sasuke and Naruto to ensure that everything went smoothly. It wouldn't hurt to be extra careful.

To Sasuke's surprise, Naruto was already inside. He was sitting at the table, wrinkling the tablecloth with his elbows—and he was wearing a suit. He had even managed to get his tie on straight, and he looked–

He looked good.

Naruto lifted his gaze up and noticed Sasuke. A bright smile lit up his face. "Hey, Sas–"

"Elbows off the table, idiot", Sasuke scolded. He avoided Naruto's eyes and concentrated on scrutinizing the room, making sure that everything was as it should be. There would still be time for minor changes if something didn't meet the demands made by their boss.

Sasuke thought he heard Naruto mutter something unkind under his breath, but he couldn't really make up the words. The chair legs scraped the floor when Naruto stood up.

Naruto's footsteps grew closer. His voice was emotionless when he spoke. "Back to wearing the uniform, then?"

"The uniform?" Sasuke snorted, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "I don't think that a custom made suit is really a–"

"You know what I mean", Naruto interrupted. "You wear it like a uniform."

"What does that even–?"

"I don't know, man", Naruto said, pushing his hands into his pockets. There was an evasive look on his face. "It's just… It's nothing, I– I just preferred the look from last night."

"Your dislike for suits is duly noted", Sasuke said. "Still, I'm impressed that you had the common sense to actually wear one for tonight."

"Sure", Naruto said. "Wouldn't want to embarrass you."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows in some kind of amused disbelief. "It's none of my concern how you decide to dress yourself. Although, dressing like a Hot Topic employee for a business dinner could leave–"

"–a bad impression", Naruto noted. "I know. I'm not completely uncivilized, you know…"

"Oh", Sasuke smirked. "Could have fooled me."

Naruto shrugged, a grin on his lips. "You're just jealous because I have an exceptional fashion sense."

"Is that so?" Sasuke questioned. "Didn't you just tell me how much you liked my outfit from last night?"

"Uh, well", Naruto said, a hint of pink spreading to his cheeks, "that's–"

The door to the dining room opened with a loud bang, and Mr. Igleheart strutted in—once again interrupting the conversation.

Mr. Igleheart seemed to be in excellent mood. He was dressed in an appalling yellow suit—his appearance so off-putting that it made Sasuke almost reconsider his opinion on suits altogether. Kakashi followed in after his boss, his demeanour considerably more nonchalant. The contrast between the two men was astounding, and next to his assistant Mr. Igleheart managed to looked even gaudier than usual.

"Good evening", Mr. Igleheart announced, heading straight to the table. "I don't know about you guys, but I am absolutely starving!"

Kakashi hurried over to pull a chair out for his boss, and Mr. Igleheart took a seat.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who just shrugged in response. Following Mr. Igleheart's example they all sat down. Immediately a host hurried over to welcome them and bring over the menus.

So far so good, but Sasuke still felt on edge. It was show time—no room for mistakes. And he didn't know what to expect.

Sasuke spared a glimpse at Igleheart, who was browsing the menu with an almost childlike enthusiasm. "The lobster here is exquisite", Sasuke remarked.

"Oh", Mr. Igleheart said, "lobster is my favorite!"

Sasuke offered a terse nod to the older man, turning his attention back to the menu in front of him. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but anything was better than the conversation he was supposed to be having with their investor-to-be. Sasuke still had his doubts about the deal, and for the umpteenth time he had to remind himself that it wasn't his call to make. They needed the signature, and he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of that goal.

xxx

After the waiter had taken their orders, they had discussed some minor things concerning the deal, but the conversation had been kept light. It felt almost ordinary somehow—like any other business dinner Sasuke had ever taken part in. Things had proceeded as planned, without anything inappropriate or scandalous so far.

The waiter came back with their orders and Sasuke could not resist the opportunity to snidely comment on Naruto's wine choice and how it didn't compliment the food at all. Naruto retaliated with childish name-calling, and for a brief moment Sasuke felt an almost relieving sense of normalcy—but of course neither of them could let things go, and the conversation was about to turn into a full-blown argument.

"As interesting as this is to watch", Mr. Igleheart said, "I'm afraid I have to interrupt your lovers' quarrel."

"Sir, it's not–" Sasuke said.

"Sorry about that", Naruto said at the same time.

Mr. Igleheart looked at them with some sort of casual amusement. "I guess it's time for us to really get down to business, right? We are here to talk about the potential fate of my millions, after all."

"Indeed, sir", Sasuke forced out, pointedly avoiding Naruto's gaze. "If it's alright with you, we would like to go over Mr. Sowenger's terms."